Proclaiming the Power of the Holy Spirit and a Personal Relationship with Jesus
The Catholic Charismatic Renewal (CCR) is now a worldwide movement that promotes a radical renewal of living faith in the power of the Holy Spirit through the formation of Catholic Charismatic Renewal prayer groups and other like bodies worldwide. The Acts of the Apostles describes the action of the Holy Spirit in his presence among the people newly converted to the faith.
The primary grace of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal is the Pentecostal grace known as, "The Baptism of the Spirit"; which brings about a deeper conversion to Jesus and releases the Holy Spirit to work in an individual's life in a more powerful way. This is often accompanied by the charisms mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles and the letters of St. Paul.
The Baptism of the Spirit is not a Sacrament but revitalises and makes real the graces received in the Sacraments of Initiation: Baptism and Confirmation. This practice which largely fell away in the early Middle Ages and has been revitalised in ways that we have available today. These gifts are not for the individual but for the whole community. The Holy Spirit gives understanding about himself and the Christian way of receiving Wisdom, Knowledge and Discernment and to those who respond, gives the experience of some or all of the gifts: faith, healing, miracles, prophecy, tongues and interpretation of tongues.
On 9 June 2019 Pope Francis recognised the broad extent of the Holy Spirit through different charismatic groups and set up CHARIS (CHArismatic Renewal International Service) to guide all who express this "stream of grace" and arranged for them to be attached to the Vatican Dicastery of the Laity, Family and Life. CHARIS is not a governing body but a service for the CCR to report to the Vatican through the Dicastery of Laity, Family and Life. This means that the whole of the Charismatic Renewal family now belongs fully to the Universal Church of Rome. For more information see CHARIS section of the resources tab.